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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city...

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city will get a ‘Hindu Marathi’ person to head India’s richest civic body, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also harbour fond hopes of a miracle that could ensure their own person for the post. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) optimism stems from expectations of possible political permutations-combinations that could develop with a realignment of forces as the Supreme Court is hearing the cases involving the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party this week. Catapulted as the largest single party, the BJP hopes to install a first ever party-man as Mayor, but that may not create history. Way back in 1982-1983, a BJP leader Dr. Prabhakar Pai had served in the top post in Mumbai (then Bombay). Incidentally, Dr. Pai hailed from Udupi district of Karnataka, and his appointment came barely a couple of years after the BJP was formed (1980), capping a distinguished career as a city father, said experts. Originally a Congressman, Dr. Pai later shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party, then back to Congress briefly, founded the Janata Seva Sangh before immersing himself in social activities. Second Administrator The 2026 Mayoral elections have evoked huge interest not only among Mumbaikars but across the country as it comes after nearly four years since the BMC was governed by an Administrator. This was only the second time in the BMC history that an Administrator was named after April 1984-May 1985. On both occasions, there were election-related issues, the first time the elections got delayed for certain reasons and the second time the polling was put off owing to Ward delimitations and OBC quotas as the matter was pending in the courts. From 1931 till 2022, Mumbai has been lorded over by 76 Mayors, men and women, hailing from various regions, backgrounds, castes and communities. They included Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, even a Jew, etc., truly reflecting the cosmopolitan personality of the coastal city and India’s financial powerhouse. In 1931-1932, the Mayor was a Parsi, J. B. Boman Behram, and others from his community followed like Khurshed Framji Nariman (after whom Nariman Point is named), E. A. Bandukwala, Minoo Masani, B. N. Karanjia and other bigwigs. There were Muslims like Hoosenally Rahimtoola, Sultan M. Chinoy, the legendary Yusuf Meherally, Dr. A. U. Memon and others. The Christian community got a fair share of Mayors with Joseph A. D’Souza – who was Member of Constituent Assembly representing Bombay Province for writing-approving the Constitution of India, M. U. Mascarenhas, P. A. Dias, Simon C. Fernandes, J. Leon D’Souza, et al. A Jew Elijah Moses (1937-1938) and a Sikh M. H. Bedi (1983-1984), served as Mayors, but post-1985, for the past 40 years, nobody from any minority community occupied the august post. During the silver jubilee year of the post, Sulochana M. Modi became the first woman Mayor of Mumbai (1956), and later with tweaks in the rules, many women ruled in this post – Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar (1994-1995), Vishakha Raut (997-1998), Dr. Shubha Raul (March 2007-Nov. 2009), Shraddha Jadhav (Dec. 2009-March 2012), Snehal Ambedkar (Sep. 2014-March 2017). The last incumbent (before the Administrator) was a government nurse, Kishori Pednekar (Nov. 2019-March 2022) - who earned the sobriquet of ‘Florence Nightingale’ of Mumbai - as she flitted around in her full white uniform at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, earning the admiration of the citizens. Mumbai Mayor – high-profile post The Mumbai Mayor’s post is considered a crucial step in the political ladder and many went on to become MLAs, MPs, state-central ministers, a Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers and union ministers. The formidable S. K. Patil was Mayor (1949-1952) and later served in the union cabinets of PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lah Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi; Dahyabhai V. Patel (1954-1955) was the son of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Manohar Joshi (1976-1977) became the CM of Maharashtra, later union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha; Chhagan Bhujbal (1985-1986 – 1990-1991) became a Deputy CM.

Modi slams Congress over Waqf Act opposition, accuses party of muslim appeasement and ignoring Ambedkar's legacy



Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over its opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the party of appeasing Muslim fundamentalists and said its resistance to the new legislation is proof of that. He also questioned why the Congress does not appoint a Muslim party president or allocate 50 per cent of its election tickets to Muslim candidates.


The Prime Minister made these remarks during the inauguration of the Hisar airport in Haryana, calling it a major milestone in the state’s developmental progress. On the occasion of BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the Dalit icon and architect of the Constitution, Modi said his government draws inspiration from Ambedkar's efforts. "Every decision and policy is dedicated to Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said.


Criticising the Congress, he alleged that the party had reduced the Constitution to a tool for staying in power. "During the Emergency, the spirit of the Constitution was killed to retain power. The Constitution talks about a secular civil code, but Congress never implemented it. Today, a uniform civil code has been implemented in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, the Congress is opposing this. Congress never bothered to check if the benefits of reservation reached SC/ST and OBC communities," the Prime Minister said.


He also accused the Congress of disrespecting Ambedkar during his lifetime. "We must never forget what the Congress did to Babasaheb Ambedkar. While he was alive, the party insulted him repeatedly. They made him lose elections twice. Congress wanted to uproot him; they conspired to keep him out of the system. After his death, they even tried to erase his memory. Babasaheb stood for equality, but Congress spread the virus of vote-bank politics throughout the country," he said.


Modi reiterated that Ambedkar had rejected the idea of religion-based reservations. "Congress's appeasement politics has harmed the Muslims too. Congress has only made some fundamentalists happy. The rest of the society remained uneducated and poor. The biggest proof of this wrong approach is in the Waqf law," he said.


The Prime Minister alleged that the Congress made arbitrary amendments to the Waqf law for political gains, thereby distorting constitutional principles. "I want to ask these vote-bank hungry leaders, if you care about the Muslims, why doesn't Congress make a Muslim its party president. Give 50 per cent tickets in Lok Sabha election to Muslims. If they win, they would put forward their views. But no, they won't give (Muslims) anything in the Congress. They will snatch the rights of citizens. Their intention was never to do anything good for anyone," he said.


He further pointed out that a large portion of land across the country is designated as Waqf property. "If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn't need to earn a livelihood from repairing bicycle punctures. But only a few land mafia benefited from these properties. This mafia was looting lands belonging to Dalit, backward sections and widows. The loot of the poor will stop after these changes to the Waqf law. Under the new Waqf law, land or property belonging to tribals cannot be touched by the Waqf Board. Poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims will get their rights. This is real social justice," he said.


Responding to the Prime Minister, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that BR Ambedkar always emphasized the value of education and accused the current government of failing to follow his vision. "They (BJP) only speak against Congress, Nehru ji and all we have done until now. But, I ask what have they done till now and which of Babasaheb's principles have they adopted?" he asked.


Citing the Women’s Reservation Act, which mandates 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, Kharge said, "When the Women's Reservation Bill was passed 2 years ago, the Congress demanded that it be implemented immediately. Our demand was that SC, ST and OBC women be given reservation in it. This is our objective. We have been fighting for this for a long time," he said.

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